PORT ANGELES — United Way of Clallam County has provided grants totaling $95,000 to six agencies in the second year of the Great Beginnings Early Learning Initiative.

Receiving funding are Crescent Pre-School Cooperative, First Step Family Support Center, Lutheran Community Services NW Parent Line, Parenting Matters Foundation, Serenity House of Clallam County and Reach Out and Read WA.

In 2012, Clallam United Way launched the Great Beginnings program, which provides grants to agencies delivering services to young families and child care providers.

“We believe that United Way’s Great Beginnings programs are the most important investments we can make in our children’s futures and in our communities’ future economic development,” said United Way Executive Director Jody Moss.

Details of grants awarded this year are:

-- Crescent Pre-School Cooperative in Joyce received $5,000 to support and enhance the Crescent Pre-School program and provide scholarships for six students to attend the program.

-- Serenity House of Clallam County received $4,280 to provide parenting classes for families in the Serenity House and child care programs.

-- First Step Family Support Center in Port Angeles received $14,807 and Parenting Matters in Sequim was given $30,300 to provide six parenting classes in Sequim, Port Angeles, Forks, LaPush and Neah Bay.

Spanish-language parenting classes will be offered in Forks and Sequim.

Classes are open to parents or caregivers who want to learn more about their child’s physical, social, and emotional growth — and discover activities to do with their children to help with brain development.

-- Lutheran Community Services NW/Parent Line was awarded $9,600 to conduct a series of Play and Learn classes in Sequim and in Clallam Bay.

In addition, a separate $15,000 grant was awarded to Parent Line to provide screening for children between 18 and 36 months of age for social, emotional, behavioral and developmental matters and to provide information to parents and caregivers on access to a broad variety of parenting resources.

-- Reach Out and Read WA received $9,000 from United Way to maintain and enhance its services at the Peninsula Children’s Clinic in Port Angeles and the Bogachiel Clinic in Forks.

Reach Out and Read is a parenting education program working with doctors to give books to families, using the books in the well child evaluation process and encouraging families to read together at home.

-- United Way of Clallam County will also help fund the Parenting Matters Foundation through a separate $8,220 grant funding the First Teacher Newsletter, a publication with diverse articles for parents and other caregivers that reaches approximately 80 percent of families with young children across the county.

This parenting toolkit includes information and strategies for issues in the first five years of life, including early childhood development, early literacy, nutrition, behavior, dental needs, games and discipline.